Latest trends in international assignment salary management

Despite global economic uncertainty caused in part by potential trade wars and Brexit, ECA’s latest Expatriate Salary Management Survey found companies to be cautiously optimistic about the future of international mobility.

While organisations are increasingly using alternative assignment types to mobilise their workforces, long-term assignments still play an important role in delivering their international business strategies. More companies reported an increase in their assignee workforce over the past three years than a reduction, and the forecast for the next three years is for a continued increase in long-term assignee numbers.

With long-term assignees set to continue being a large proportion of the mobile workforce, it’s important your pay and benefits policy is fit for purpose. Despite continuing concern over the cost of international assignment costs and pressure to contain them, there is little evidence to suggest that assignment salary packages have become leaner in the past three years. Rather, the survey found the main challenges when managing long-term international assignments were attracting and retaining talent and motivating staff to be mobile. Companies are therefore becoming increasingly flexible in their approach to long-term assignments. Rather than operating a one-size-fits-all policy, a range of remuneration approaches are being deployed to balance the need to incentivise mobility in some cases by containing costs elsewhere using local-plus or lighter build-up packages.

The infographic below shows some of the key findings of the Expatriate Salary Management Survey, which looks at the latest trends and best practice in calculating and managing pay for long-term international assignments. As always, ECA’s consultants are on hand to help you develop or review your global mobility policies according to your company’s business objectives, and in line with market practice.

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ECA's Expatriate Salary Management Survey aims to establish the latest trends and challenges in the application of international assignment pay and policy for long-term assignees.